What do general treatments at the dentist typically include?

It is normal to feel nervous about your upcoming dental visit. Many people experience anxiety about their first appointment with us because they do not know what to expect. Read on to learn  about some of the general treatments in Harley Street we offer at our practice, Harley Street Dental Clinic.

general-dental-treatments-harley-streetWhat does a routine appointment entail?

On average, you should be undergoing general treatments in Harley Street twice a year, but this number might change according to the nature of your dental issue. These check-ups are crucial in preventing an onslaught of nasty, yet avoidable, mouth diseases and infections.

Usually, the treatments and procedures we administer are routine and straightforward, but the experience will vary from person-to-person, depending on how long it has been since your last visit, the state of your oral health and whether or not you are a first-time patient. We will need to conduct a full medical and dental history if you are new to our practice.

A regular check-up includes the following:

  • A thorough examination of your entire mouth. We do this to check for signs of poor dental health, namely tooth decay and gum diseases.
  • If proven necessary, we might take x-rays – these x-rays will highlight abnormalities, whereupon cavities show up as dark areas on a tooth.
  • We will discuss your health and lifestyle habits that contribute to poor oral hygiene, including a poor diet, smoking and drinking.
  • We will also chat about your teeth-cleaning and ways in which it can be improved upon.
  • If you need treatment beyond a routine check-up, these will be explained in detail, and we will make a dental appointment for you in the near future.
  • We will happily answer any and all questions and concerns to your satisfaction.

Dental emergencies: how do you handle these kinds of general treatments in Harley Street?

In an ideal world, if we look after our teeth, we should not have to experience dental emergencies. However, accidents are unpredictable and can occur at any time.

If you have knocked out a tooth, it is important to see us urgently to save it.  The sooner you receive medical attention, the higher your chances of successfully re-implanting the tooth in the socket.

There are a few things you can do to be proactive in scenarios like this, which include

  • Hold the tooth by the crown and not the root, in order to prevent spreading infection. If possible, reposition the tooth in the socket by biting down on a paper towel.
  • If you cannot, then try to hold the tooth in your cheek – it is important to keep it hydrated with your saliva.
  • If you are experiencing severe blood loss – apply pressure to the site with a cloth, bandages or anything clean and available – tea bags work well as makeshift bandages because they are highly absorbent.

In emergencies, people are left scrambling to find an emergency dentist who can treat them immediately – we offer emergency services during office hours and offer 24-hour advice to people who phone us after-hours.

Whether you are a new patient or old, require routine check-ups or more serious treatments, or need urgent medical care following an accident, our experienced dental team are on board to assist you!

The importance of routine check-ups and other forms of general dentistry in Harley Street

Did you recently get a letter through your door, an email, or a text message reminding you it is time for you biannual dental check-up? Are you thinking about skipping it? Don’t!

General Dentistry in Harley StreetAlthough it may be a nuisance and causes about as much excitement as watching paint dry, dentistry in Harley Street and other general dental practices are important for maintaining your oral health, but are also required to help you keep your whole body in good health too.

You are going to gain more from that dental check-up than you will lose, so before you throw the letter away, or delete that email and wait for an emergency to visit your dentist, consider the other benefits of general dentistry in Harley Street.

Early identification

Prevention is better than cure; nowhere is that more relevant than in dentistry.

While your dentist can recognise early indicators of issues like gum disease, tooth decay or excessive plaque build-up, they are also trained to recognise more ominous issues too.

If you are a smoker, it is advisable that you visit your dentist at least twice a year for oral cancer screening; if you don’t smoke, but have a weakened immune system due to medication or illness, it is important that you stay in regular contact with your dentist.

Basic dental work if needed

Although it is difficult to enjoy having a filling, it is important to have one if needed to prevent further decay of the tooth and most importantly, to stop the pain and prevent further issues.

If a tooth needs filling but is left for a sustained period, it may decay further, leading to an abscess, a root canal or even an extraction in the future.

If your dentist identifies a minor cavity or the beginning signs of one, they can apply a fluoride gel to harden the enamel and prevent you needing any further work on that tooth.

White fillings

If you have decay at the front of your mouth, you may be worried about your dentist filling it with a large, black, metal filling.

Today dentistry in Harley Street, means metal based fillings are being phased out in favour of white, composite based ones. They are more aesthetically pleasing and are hardier to temperature changes that may occur in the mouth due to consumption of hot and cold beverages and foods.

Referrals

If you require further work than one of our dentists can offer, they will refer you. This can be to another dental professional, like an orthodontist for braces or a hygienist for preventative dentistry.

When your dentist becomes concerned about a swelling or lump in your mouth, they are able to refer you to a specialist for a check-up and further diagnostic work, to determine what the lump or swelling actually is. This can be life saving and more often than not reassuring, as that dental lump you are worried about is probably benign.

Call us today about general dentistry.

General treatments are the backbone of oral health

All the bells and whistles of cosmetic dentistry can make for a fabulous smile, but only if the mouth it is housed in is in great condition. There’s very little point in spending a fortune on veneers, or teeth whitening if your gums are diseased or your teeth are decaying.

That’s why, here at Harley Street Dental Clinic in Harley Street, we strongly encourage everyone to come for bi-annual check-ups. Check-ups form the foundation of all general treatments. They are when we get to see if everything is going well in your mouth. If so, great. If not, let’s move onto booking you in for the right general treatment to sort out your oral health issue.

General Treatments in Harley StreetWhat are general treatments?

Dealing with decay

Decay needs to be dealt with quickly, so that it does not eat away at more of your tooth material. Here, we use white fillings to replace decayed tooth material. This is made from a mixture of plastic and glass. White fillings do not require the removal of so much healthy tooth material as amalgam so your teeth remain stronger. White fillings also bond with the tooth, creating a seamless filling that keeps out decay-causing bacteria very effectively. Also, the filling can be sculpted to give you back your lost chewing contours on your back teeth.

We can also help prevent decay in children by treating their teeth with fluoride to make the enamel stronger. As well as this, we can also paint their back teeth with fissure sealants to stop bacteria getting at the enamel in the first place.

Crowns

If the crowns of your teeth are starting to fail, but the root is still healthy, we can cover the crown with an artificial cap, also called a crown. This can extend the life of your tooth by years.

Dentures

If you do lose teeth, we can also replace them with partial or full dentures. These are artificial teeth on a plate that you remove at night to clean, and to rest your gums.

Book a check-up today

If it’s been a while since you last had your teeth checked, then come and see us as soon as possible.

Finding the right dental practice

Looking after our teeth is a very important part of modern life. Not only do we want to make sure our teeth last us our whole lifetime, but now there are so many options and opportunities to make them look as good as possible.

The key to looking after our teeth properly is a good dentist. It’s mostly down to ourselves to keep our teeth healthy, but the help of a good dentist can make a huge difference. A dentist should be welcoming and relaxing, making visiting the clinic a pleasure rather than a chore.

General Treatments in Harley StreetHere at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we believe we can make the experience as positive as possible for you. Our team of dental professionals will make you feel warm and welcome, keeping on top of your oral health and giving you that perfect smile.

Keeping your teeth happy and healthy

At Harley Street, general treatments can keep your teeth feeling great and working perfectly. Our friendly dentists provide regular check-ups that are crucial when maintaining your teeth.

It’s important to get regular check-ups because the dentist can spot any problems before they get too serious.

The number of check-ups you will need in a year depends on your dental history and your habits. The average adult should visit the dentist twice in a year to keep on top of their oral hygiene.

Our dentists provide all of the usual restorative and preventive dental treatments like fillings and crowns to make sure any problems are dealt with efficiently.

In case of emergency

In the event of a dental emergency, we are here to help. We have an emergency dentistry number that is available 24 hours a day and we will do our best to book you an appointment as soon as possible.

In the event of tooth loss, we offer a range of options that can help you get back to your normal pace of life. Dental implants offer a great solution for any number of missing teeth and can last you a lifetime.

For more details of any of our treatments, book a free consultation at our clinic.

Take a look at our record

At Harley Street Dental Clinic in Harley Street, there are a few ways that you can check that we have all the technical experience you need.

dentist-in-harley-streetWhen you are looking for a dentist, one of the first things you need to know is whether they are qualified. You can check this at the clinic or through each practitioner’s membership of the General Dental Council. This is the regulatory body for dentists and indicates that certain criteria have been met in terms of training. It also shows that the dentist is up to date with their professional development. In certain cases, you may also be able to check that they are a specialist in their chosen field such as in the case of an orthodontist.

A more tangible way to check our experience is to look at our smile album online and read our patient testimonials. These are real people who have had treatments with us. Seeing the results can help to boost your confidence and guide you to the treatment you want. If you want something more independent then check out our reviews on Google.

What are you questions?

When you visit the dentist in Harley Street at our clinic, we want to give you all the information you need. While we have plenty of experience talking with patients and supplying the required information, everyone is different and we want to hear about anything you particularly want to know. This means coming along with your questions. Look around our site at our treatment offerings and research your choice online as well. This will give you general guidelines on what might happen and help you to formulate your questions.

Check-ups or major treatment

Whether you are looking for a dentist in Harley Street that you can rely on for comfortable, regular check-ups or you think you might want more extensive restorative or cosmetic work done, we will do everything we can to meet your needs. We approach every patient and treatment with the same degree of care and make adjustments to tailor the experience to you.

Visiting the dentist in Harley Street need not be a chore. It can be a positive, relaxed experience. Let us show you our high standard of support and care. We look forward to welcoming you for an initial chat.

How to avoid spending money at the dentist in Harley Street

Dentistry is one of the wonders of modern living that we take for granted and most of us begrudge spending money on. In fact, lots of people actively avoid going to the dentist because they do not want to pay out for check-ups only to hear the dentist saying everything is fine, or even worse, check-ups where the dentist says they need to spend more money on their teeth.

dentist-in-harley-streetAt Harley Street Dental Clinic, we want to help you save money by keeping your oral health at optimal levels. And to do this, we need to see you at least twice a year for a check-up.

Avoiding check-ups can eventually lead to even more time in your Harley Street dentist’s chair and you having to spend money on expensive remedial work. According to the Oral Health Foundation, patients in the UK spend £550 million on their share of the NHS’s £2.25 billion annual dental bill.

Ironically, the best thing that you can do to avoid coming to see you Harley Street dentist, is to come and see your Harley Street dentist! If you maintain the discipline to come in for twice-yearly check-ups, you will deal with problems before they develop into emergencies.

Your Harley Street dentist uses a check-up appointment to look for decay, which they can spot a long time before you become aware of it. They can give you a minor filling to treat the decay, which if left, could develop into something that needs root canal therapy, or an extraction. Extractions, and the missing root in your jawbone, can lead all sorts of problems that can mean having to spend money on dentures or dental implants. That could set you back thousands of pounds.

Alongside a twice-yearly check-up, you also need to practise good oral health care. This involves brushing your teeth after breakfast and before bed, or better still, after every meal or snack. Flossing between your teeth and using a mouthwash also do wonders. These three actions work together to reduce the build-up of plaque, which causes tooth decay and gum disease.

Taking disciplined action at home may not mean you never have to go to the dentist in Harley Street, but you can avoid paying a fortune for general dental treatments.

Drinking to Whiter Teeth: Staying Away from Beverages that Stain Around the Clock

Having discoloured teeth is a product of both natural and unnatural causes. Two examples of things people simply cannot avoid are food and drinks. Today, we here at Harley Street Dental Clinic will list the optional drinks of our day-to-day that cause our teeth to go yellow—though we will not blame you for arguing whether these beverages are truly optional.

Morning

hsdcWaking up brings about a lot of possibilities. Coffee is a large contributor to productivity and good mornings. But, it is also high in chromogens, or compounds with strong pigments. Your teeth will not end up brown per se, but the acidity of coffee paired with its chromogens will cause your teeth to become more yellow over time.

Evening

Wine is also an acidic drink though this time it boasts a large amount of tannins, or compounds that make your teeth more vulnerable to stains. This is the case for white wine, and other clear/sparkling alcoholic beverages. Red wine is even more dentally harmful, since it contains chromogens on top of the tannins.

Times in Between

Yes, tea does stain teeth. More than coffee and wine, actually. It is full of tannins and is highly acidic. These drinks can cause discoloured teeth when drank on a regular basis, so looking at tea consumption in this case is almost a non-factor.

We are in no way discouraging you from drinking these beverages, but as dentists, we feel that it is important for people to know how much damage our common thirst quenchers can really bring. Fizzy drinks are an obvious culprit, but since the idea stained teeth rarely stops us from consuming the food and drinks we love, it is better to know and balance out the damage with responsible dental practices.

Contact Harley Street Dental Clinic for more information.

General Treatments

At Harley Street Dental Clinic we offer a wide range of dental treatments for all the family, to patients from London and beyond.

restorative dentistryWhile we’re committed to preventative dentistry, aiming to stop dental health problems before they arise, should you find yourself in need of treatment we can offer a full and comprehensive selection of treatments, all under one roof. We have a dedicated and experienced team of specialists in a range of areas, including restorative dentistry, dental hygiene, children’s dentistry and orthodontics.

We are committed to practising pain-free dentistry and are equipped and experienced in treating nervous and phobic patients. If fear has put you off seeking dental treatment for many years, we are confident we can help you. We will never be judgemental, but will work with you to restore your dental health and keep it in good condition for the rest of your life. Options for nervous patients include relaxation and sedation, enabling you to have necessary treatment in a relaxed, calming environment.

Because we use only the latest techniques and materials, delivered by highly-skilled and experienced practitioners, we are able to provide pain-free dentistry to patients of all ages. We are always happy to welcome new patients to our practice.

In most cases, we recommend that you visit us for a general dental check-up at least every six months. That way, it’s easier for us to spot problems early and treat them before they become serious.

After your examination we will provide you with a comprehensive diagnosis, a treatment plan if any action is needed, plus advice on caring for your teeth and gums at home. If we find you need specialist treatment, for example for periodontics (gum disease), then you will be referred to one of our specialists. Your dentist will continue to oversee your treatment plan and will keep you informed at all stages of treatment.

Temporary Toothache Relief

Nothing puts a damper on a day like a toothache. It may not be a life-threatening conditioning, but suffering from toothache can be incapacitating. After all, who can work or study with a throbbing tooth? How can you attend to your usual things to do such as eating, sleeping, and speaking, when sharp pains hinder you?

Harley Street Dental ClinicToothaches vary from mild soreness to an unbearable throbbing in your teeth. This usually happens when you have an infection, an exposed tooth root, cavities, a loose filling, gum disease, or jaw joint disorder. Fortunately, our dentists at Harley Street Dental Clinic are dedicated to your wellbeing. We take a look at some ways to temporarily relieve the ache—until you can get to our office, at least:

Here are some of them:

Mix Salt and Water

Salt helps reduce inflammation in the gums, which can then relieve toothaches. Salt also helps to stop the spread of bacteria in your mouth.

You simply need to mix a teaspoon of table salt with a cup of warm water. Swish the mixture in your mouth for about 30 seconds, and then spit it out. Repeat this as often as you need throughout the day. Please note that it is important to check with your physician before doing this remedy if you have a heart problem.

Pop a Painkiller

Over-the-counter pain medications can be another effective source of relief for your toothache. Ibuprofen and aspirin, in particular, can help reduce the pain and inflammation. Acetaminophen, on the other hand, relieves pain by blocking messages in the brain instead of reducing the inflammation.

Use Clove Oil

This one may be odd, but using clove oil is an age-old remedy for toothaches. Clove oil has antibacterial properties, and surprisingly also acts as a mild local anaesthetic.

You simply need to mix 2 to 3 drops of clove oil with a quarter of a teaspoon of olive oil. Soak a cotton ball in the oil mixture, place it near the affected tooth, and bite down to keep the cotton in place.

Remember, these home remedies only relieve pain temporarily. Always see to it that you make an appointment with us, because we need to do a diagnosis of your toothache and find out the cause. Chances are, you have a problem that requires treatment. If you do not find out what is causing the ache as soon as possible, it could only get worse.

For a dentist on Harley Street, book an appointment with Harley Street Dental Clinic today!